1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of communications systems, and in particular, to a system and method for registering products with a manufacturer using a code processing system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Manufacturers of products sometimes offer additional warranties on their products other than those prescribed by law. Some of these additional warranties are not activated until the purchaser, also referred to as the consumer, somehow contacts the manufacturer to activate the warranty. In other words, warranties are available to the consumer, but the warranties are not active upon purchase of the product. The consumer has to contact the manufacturer to request activation of the warranty on the product. For instance, the consumer could call the manufacturer to register the purchased product with the manufacturer. The consumer could also mail in a warranty activation card that is packaged with the product. The consumer could also activate the warranty through email or through a home web page for the manufacturer. The manufacturer registers the product in response to the activation request, in a database for example. The manufacturer then “turns-on” or activates the warranty on the product. The consumer can then seek restitution from the manufacturer in the event that a product is found to be defective. The consumer can also receive product updates, notices, upgrade offers, and other information from the manufacturer.
Similarly, phone companies distribute or sell pre-paid phone cards that are not activated. If a consumer attempts to make a call using a non-activated phone card, then the phone companies deny the consumer access to the system. The phone companies have a record of the pre-paid phone cards and the records initially have the pre-paid phone cards listed as not activated. They are not activated to avoid stealing of the cards or unauthorized use of the cards. The phone cards include a code for activating the cards. A merchant can activate a phone card by calling the phone company and supplying the phone company with an authentication of the merchant and an activation code. The phone company finds the activation code in its database and activates the phone cards associated with the activation code.
Many sellers of products, particularly retail sellers, use point of sale systems to read the price of a product and accept payment for the product. A point of sale system, such as a bar code reader or some other device, reads product information from a product and displays a price for the product. The consumer then provides the point of sale system with a financial card number to provide payment for the product. The financial card number could be a credit card number, a bank card number, a debit card number, or some other financial transaction number. The point of sale system communicates with a financial network over the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or a private line. The point of sale system transmits a charge authorization request, the card number, and other information pertaining to the sale to the financial network. The financial network processes the charge authorization request, the card number, and the other sale information and generates an authorization response. The authorization response indicates whether the card transaction is allowed. The financial network transmits the authorization response to the point of sale system over the PSTN or the private line. The point of sale system receives the authorization response and displays the response for the sales clerk and the consumer.
Unfortunately, the point of sale system and financial network have not been effectively adapted to communicate with a manufacturer to register products. Consumers that have to actively register products themselves, such as to activate a warranty, may not take the time to register the product they purchase. Consequently, the consumers are not getting full protections offered by the manufacturers.